There is a great need to store objects, such as keys, in a secure location to avoid the unwanted and potentially unlawful use of the object. In particular, the unauthorized use of keys may result in the theft of vehicles, unlawful entry into locked area that may have valuable items or sensitive information stored or the unwanted intrusion into areas that may be dangerous or where individual privacy may be of concern.
Frequently, where numerous keys are involved, as a further level of security, such keys lack any indicia that would identify the key's intended interface. While the deletion of indicia may add security, it creates problems for the proper users of the keys, particularly where numerous keys are involved and where those keys need to be stored in a single location. Identifying the proper key for a particular lock or vehicle can be problematic.
For example, car dealerships may have hundreds of vehicles with each having a corresponding set of keys. The keys are typically kept in a secure location, but such key sets lack identifying information to thwart theft of vehicles when unauthorized persons gain access to key sets Due to the lack of identifying information, dealerships devised numerous schemes to allow reasonable access to the keys by employees, while maintaining security. Prior to the digital technology revolution, dealerships used crude inventory tracking schemes but with the introduction of computers, automated systems for tracking keys were developed.
An automated object tracking and control system is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,801,628 and 6,075,441 (hereinafter “Maloney references”), the substance of which are incorporated herein by reference. The Maloney references employ security fobs, plastic inserts that are associated with each set of keys. Each security fob has an on board touch memory device for storing information about the associated key set. The security fobs, when inserted through the slots of an upper panel, electrically interface with connections of a lower printed circuit board (PCB). The slotted panel and corresponding PCB are located within a drawer of a lockable cabinet used to securely store the fob and key sets. Each slot includes corresponding indicia indicating row and column numbers as well as proper insertion orientation. The PCB is in electrical communication with a computer that records, tracks, and controls access to plastic key fobs that are inserted through the panel into a main PCB. The memory device stores the status of the objects associated with the key fob. Through the upper panel, the key fob is inserted into slots. Below the backside of the upper panel, a pair of metal contacts vertically protrudes from the top side of the PCB back plane and contacts the tongue of the key fob. The tongue of the key fob is asymmetrically shaped, requiring the key fob inserted into the printed back plane in one orientation. This orientation requires that one contact of the pair is associated with a row of the array and the other contact is associated with the column of the array. A peripheral device connected to the computer displays the row and column number to help the user locate an empty slot or set of inserted keys.
There are several problems associated with previous disclosed systems. When the slot array is nearly full of key fobs, locating the open slot is difficult and reading the indicia on the panel is problematic. Further, inserting the fob in the proper orientation is made difficult by the surrounding key fobs that block the view of the open slot. Another problem associated with previously disclosed systems is that such systems require a user to look at the computer screen for the row and the column number of the key fob, and find the row and column number of the desired key fob from an array of key fob slots within the drawer. This manual task to locate or replace a key fob is clumsy because a user is required to simultaneously do the following: remember the row and column number, locate the desired row and column, and select the row and column associated with the desired key fob from an array of key fobs.
Another problem with previously disclosed systems involves pairs of vertically protruding metal contacts that provide the entire mechanical support for the key fob structure. Large forces are present on the pairs of metal contacts because of the weight of the keys at the end of a lever formed by the key fob arm about the fulcrum formed by the metal contact point with the memory device. The system as disclosed by the Maloney references attempt to address the key fob support by riveting the pairs of metal contacts to the back plane board. This riveting attachment increases system overall manufacturing cost because the riveting operation is expensive and does not likely address the potential of premature contact failure.
Another problem with previously disclosed systems is the air-gap between the panel board and the printed circuit board. Dirt and debris can enter slots in the panel and contaminate upwardly protruding metal contacts and other electronic components, or short-out electronic traces on the printed circuit board.
Thus, there is a need for an improved object system that tracks and controls access to objects that addresses the above described problems as well as providing additional advantages over existing art.